Wildcats break open a tight game in second half, 40-15
Paloma Valley defender Tristan Keplinger takes down a Valley View ballcarrier Friday night. (Photo by Rick Rowell) By Doug Spoon, Editor P...
http://www.menifee247.com/2022/09/wildcats-break-open-tight-game-in-second-half-40-15.html
By Doug Spoon, Editor
Brady Nelson (right) passed for 329 yards and 5 touchdowns for Paloma Valley, which led by only a point (10-9) at halftime before breaking the game open in the second half. The Wildcats were opportunistic -- blocking a punt that led to a safety, intercepting two passes, and recovering a fumble. The defense made some big plays, led by Tristan Keplinger, and sacked Valley View quarterback Dejon Johnson numerous times.
Stephen Gallegos was the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 18 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. It was Gallegos who bulled his way over the goal line for an 8-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, giving the Wildcats a 24-15 lead and setting them on their way to a lopsided victory.
Paloma Valley trailed 9-7 (due to a Valley View touchdown and safety) when the Wildcats took over on their own 4-yard line after a Valley View punt. Nelson marched Paloma Valley 86 yards from that point, with the key play a 53-yard pass to Noah Howard. With the final seconds ticking off at the 10-yard line, Christian Perez kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the home team the lead as the horn sounded.
After the teams traded touchdowns early in the third quarter, Gallegos capped off a 47-yard scoring drive with his 8-yard run with 5:55 left. While the defense held Valley View’s offense off the scoreboard for the rest of the night, Paloma Valley kept moving the ball and added to its lead.
Nelson passed 17 yards to Howard for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and a 31-15 lead. Later in the quarter, the Wildcats used a blocked punt and recovery in the end zone for a safety, making the score 33-15. And in the waning moments, Nelson hit KJ Misini with a 42-yard touchdown pass. Misini had three touchdown catches, including a 66-yard pass play in the first quarter and a 12-yard TD catch early in the third quarter.
Even so, there were moments of frustration for the Wildcats. They were flagged for 11 penalties totaling 75 yards, mostly on offside calls and personal fouls. In addition, they lost three fumbles. That led to some words of caution from head coach Zach Dilley in a postgame interview.
“I think we still have a lot of discipline issues we need to fix,” Dilley said. “We’re building some confidence, but our confidence is coming with … we’re getting a little too loose. We need to tighten it up before we lose games that we need to win. We had a lot of penalties, offside calls, crackback blocks we know aren’t legal … all that stuff.
“If we are going to be where we want to be, we have to fix a lot of those issues. [The players] have to understand we have to do the right thing every single play in practice, every minute of the game, and not think we’re the best thing ever. We just need to stay humble and realize we need to keep working.”
Could it be that the Wildcats got a little too high on themselves after beating Heritage last week for the first time ever in the Menifee Bowl rivalry game?
“I think that was evident tonight,” Dilley said. “It took three quarters for them to figure it out. We can’t let that happen. We’re going to lose games if that happens.”
So it figures to be a week of introspection at practice for the Wildcats, who are showing talent that wasn’t evident in a 2-7 season a year ago, but who their coach says has so much more untapped potential.
The first challenge in Sunbelt League play will come next week, when the Wildcats play at Orange Vista, which will bring a 4-0 record into the game. Paloma Valley will next be home on Sept. 30 against Riverside Poly.
Stephen Gallegos dives across the goal line for an 8-yard touchdown run. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
A pair of Wildcat defenders overpower Valley View's Hayden Snyder. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
